In July 2007, Zheng Xiaoyu, one of the most powerful regulators in China, was executed after confessing to accepting gifts and bribes from drug companies over the eight years he headed China’s equivalent of the FDA. During Zheng’s tenure, his agency approved over 150,000 applications for new drugs, at least six of which were fake, under a system he created. In 2002, the Chinese began to investigate charges of corruption among various drug officials. In addition to bribery, Zheng was found guilty of derilection of duty for failing to police the drug industry and his subordinates and of creating regulatory schemes that allowed dangerous drugs to come to market. On execution day, the government announced that it was dismantling the drug approval system Zheng had created.

Internet Assignment Find out what changes have taken place in China to ensure greater safety of both food and drugs. What changes have taken place in the United States to assure that imports, from China and elsewhere, are safer?